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Topic: Nortel 1140E - Bluetooth or not? (Read 4226 times)

I am a disabled veteran with a service connected hearing problem. I did not know just how bad it was until I took the job, but since then have been trying to get a reasonable accommodation by my employer to turn the bluetooth capability of the Nortel 1140E on so I can use a Blueparrott headset (which I purchased myself) on it and the two way radio I am required to use. I also purchased my own 4.1 bluetooth transmitter for the radio so that isn't a problem. I have done everything but get on my knees to get our IT person to who says our VoIP server is not compatible with using Bluetooth w/o having to purchase extra hardware.

I have tried, with the IT specialist's approval, to tap into the Admin functions to enable the bluetooth capability but it is not available once I get in. Upon further investigation I read where it is likely that the bluetooth function has been turned off BY the server. I informed the IT person of this and, as usual, she said, "I'll look into it." This has been going on for close to a year. Today I met with the HR guy - I'll withhold other employee comments about him, but will say that I have been waiting for pre-employment paperwork from him since two months before I was hired which he was going to e-mail me "as soon as we hang up" - and he informed me "The answer is it [bluetooth capability of the Nortel 1140E] is not compatible with our system. . . .Our phone system does not have Bluetooth capability. The system does not have the applicable hardware." Then he added a few condescending remarks.

Told you all of that to ask this: "Is the phone dependant on hardware for the bluetooth to function on a stand-alone piece of equipment?"

The Bluetooth functionality within the 1140E is completely independent of whatever Communication Manager or Call Server your employer might have on the back-end... shame they aren't just a little more technical.

I believe there were some known Bluetooth compatibility issues with some headsets and the 1140E. Some of the issues were minor, like the ability to answer the call from the headset with the push of a button, others were more pronounce, like no voice path.

I have personally used the 1140E with a Bluetooth headset but that was almost 5+ years ago now.

Not sure how 'aggressive' your feeling but depending on how your 1140E is setup you could likely turn on the Bluetooth by yourself. There is no backend configuration changes needed, everything can be enabled on the 1140E itself with no changes needed on the Communication Manager or Call Server.

Cheers!

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The Bluetooth functionality within the 1140E is completely independent of whatever Communication Manager or Call Server your employer might have on the back-end... shame they aren't just a little more technical.

I believe there were some known Bluetooth compatibility issues with some headsets and the 1140E. Some of the issues were minor, like the ability to answer the call from the headset with the push of a button, others were more pronounce, like no voice path.

I have personally used the 1140E with a Bluetooth headset but that was almost 5+ years ago now.

Not sure how 'aggressive' your feeling but depending on how your 1140E is setup you could likely turn on the Bluetooth by yourself. There is no backend configuration changes needed, everything can be enabled on the 1140E itself with no changes needed on the Communication Manager or Call Server.

Cheers!

I have used the factory admin password/work-around you, I believe, supplied on a different website (blog.michael fmcnamaradotcom/2009/10/factory-reset-nortel-ip-phone/ comes to mind)I was able to reboot the phone, push the applicable factory admin code and get to the admin menu, but the Bluetooth line item was not accessible/selectable. It was grayed out. Our IT tech came down did the same thing, thought she had it set up - in fact, told me she had it set up - and it did not hold after a it rebooted.Will be talking to a discrimination lawyer at 11:00 am. Partly because of the way they have dealt - or more like, not dealt - with my request for help and then, mostly, because I can't stand when a government employee does just as little as they can do but still expects to get paid as much as they can.

Where would you suggest I look for a Nortel "expert" should the need arise that I need one to testify in court?

There is likely a centralized configuration file that the phone is pulling each time it reboots... similar to the 46xxsettings.ini file that the Avaya(Red) IP phones pull that has the configuration bits to disable BT - that's just a guess on my part but likely the most probably cause.

So, even though you over-ride that configuration locally each time the phone reboots it will pull that configuration file back down and re-configure the IP phone.

I wouldn't know who you could use as a 'Nortel' expert.

Cheers!

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There is likely a centralized configuration file that the phone is pulling each time it reboots... similar to the 46xxsettings.ini file that the Avaya(Red) IP phones pull that has the configuration bits to disable BT - that's just a guess on my part but likely the most probably cause.

So, even though you over-ride that configuration locally each time the phone reboots it will pull that configuration file back down and re-configure the IP phone.

I wouldn't know who you could use as a 'Nortel' expert.

Cheers!

Hmm. That is what I suggested to the IT tech and she agreed. Even sent her a sample file for reference - I'm sure she never did anything with it. She, and the regional telecom tech, insist it is a hardware problem and not a software problem.